Dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures by Arnaud Roi, illustrated by Charlotte Molas; The Pop-up Guide Animals by Maud Poulain, illustrated by Peggy Nille

Today I'm looking at two pop-up books from Twirl/Tourbillion Editions, an imprint of Chronicle, which publishes interactive board books and pop-up books.

Animals is part of a series called "Pop-up guide" and has an interesting set-up where each spread is opened horizontally and looks like a diorama. It's arranged into different habitats, and there are little rubber bands on the top corners to hold the scenes in place. The scenes include the African savannah, forest, far north, desert, river, and tropical seas. The pop-up pieces have very few interlocking pieces; mostly they pull into place smoothly as you lift the top cover and pages. The pictures are colorful, cartoon style with a few including small people in the background, like a dark-skinned person in turban and burnoose on a camel in the desert or two white children sledding in the mountains. Each spread includes a brief description of the habitat and animals at the bottom of the page. While pop-up books are notoriously fragile, the unique layout of this title means that as long as kids aren't pulling at the pieces and just lifting the pages, it should be fairly long-lasting.

Dinosaurs is arranged similarly, in that you hold the book sideways and lift the top cover and pages, but it has a more traditional pop-up style with pieces unfolding out of the book. It's also a more narrow rectangle, which suits the tall dinosaurs it profiles. Each spread shows several of the same kind of dinosaur, with some vegetation, and a list of facts at the bottom, including their time period, region, size, and a brief informative paragraph. Although these pop-ups spread out from the page, they're also fairly simple with mostly folded pieces and only a few interlocking sections. As long as the user turns the pages slowly, they should stay in good condition for a good length of time.

Of course, what library user ever does turn the pages slowly? If your library collects pop-up titles, these are both excellent options. If that's not a collection you normally circulate, they make good additions to storytime kits, especially as these are quite reasonably priced. However, if your users are rough on their books in general and you don't have the budget for more ephemeral collections, these will make better gifts.

Verdict: Recommended for collections who use pop-up titles. I will be adding these to our storytime kits and circulating toys.

Animals
ISBN: 9791036345166; Published September 2022 by Twirl/Tourbillion; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Dinosaurs
ISBN: 9782408037512; Published October 2022 by Twirl/Tourbillion; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library